GOSWAMI Tulsi Das
was the "tallest tree in the magic garden of
medieval Hindi poetry". He was born in a Saryuparin
family of Gonda district, western U.P. in 1532. His
fathers name was Atma Ram Dubey and his mother was
called Hulsi. The various traditions about him affirm
that he was deeply in love with his wife Ratnawali. On
one occasion due to her sarcastic reproach, he renounced
her and became an ascetic. He is believed to have started
his magnum opus, the Ram Charit Manas in A.D. 1574, at
the age of 42, on the sacred banks of Ganges in Banaras
and completed it in A.D. 1584. He spent most of his later
life in Banaras, engaged in his literary career. Tulsi
Das wrote a number of poems between 1574-1614. He died at
the ripe age of 91 (1623).

His notable works were Dohawali,
(containing more than 700 dohas), KavitaRamayan,Gitawali,Vinay Patrika and Ram Charit
Manas. While as his smaller works include Ram Lala
Nahachhu,Parvati Mangal, Janaki Mangal and
Barvai Ramayan. The last one was composed at the
instance of Abdur Rahim Khan Khana, the son of Bairam
Khan and one of the greatest poets of Hindi, Sanskrit,
Persian and Arabic. He imbibed the Hindu spirit and in
Braj-Bhasha wrote poems on Krishna and other themes. He
was patronised by Akbar.

The Ram Charit Manas,
written by Tulsi Das is an outstanding work of great
literary merit. It was written in the Avadhi dialect of
the eastern Hindi also known as Baiswari which has
been adopted by all writers of epic poetry. Tulsi,
however, uses many words from other dialects especially Braj
-Bhasha. He also employed Sanskrit words and had no
hesitation in altering a word or employing a corrupt one
to suit metre and rhyme. This produced a synthesis of
simple avadhi and classical Sanskrit.

Tulsi Das was, of all the
varieties from the simple flowing narration to the most
complex verses. The Ram Charit Manas written in the
Awadhi of Ayodhya became so popular because, "He
appealed not to scholars but to the voiceless millions of
his native country, the people that he knew".

Literary growth reached
its acme with the liberal patronage Akbar provided to
Hindu religious expression. Literature in Braj-Bhasha
flourished under this patronage. Literary growth was
enriched by the poets and musicians of Akbars
court, including Tansen who wrote, "highly poetic
and sometimes profound songs on various themes,
devotional, panegyrical and descriptive."

Tulsi Das was indeed
"the greatest man of the age  greater than
Akbar himself as far as the conquests of the minds of the
people was concerned". Another interesting fact was
that Tulsi Das "flourished" without royal
patronage of any kind. He composed his "master
piece" in the heyday of Muslim rule in India. The
epic which attained unbounded popularity throughout the
length and breadth of the country, an eloquent testimony
to the fact that the fine literature needs no patronage.
Though living at Banaras, not far from the Mughal court,
Tulsi Das was neither discovered by Akbar nor his
courtiers.

The presumption that Tulsi
Das was patronised by Raja Man Singh or Abdur Rahim is
absolutely incorrect as this would have certainly
impaired or tarnished his glorious image.

Both eastern and western
writers have, equivocally, showered praise on Ram Charit
Manas" Grierson writes, "Looking back along the
vista of centuries, we see his noble figure unapproached
and solitary in its niche in the temple of fame, shining
in its own pure radiance".

Tulsi Das was not merely a
poet of great excellence but a spiritual teacher. His
name has become a household word and his memory is
worshipped by millions. Grouses tribute" that
his book is in everyones hands, from the court to
the cottage and is read and heard and appreciated alike
by every class of the Hindu community  whether high
or low, rich or poor, young or old" is quite
appropriate.

Tulsi Das is sometimes
blamed for having taken up the theme from Valmikis
Sanskrit Ramayana. His work is certainly not a
translation of Valmikis Ramayana but quite
independent in its treatment. The latter can be
considered as the main source of Tulsi Dass
inspired work and its treatment of the subject matter.
The difference lies in each minute detail and description
 the main forte of Tulsi Das.

Ram depicted by Tulsi is
no longer a human being of the original text. He appears
an incarnation of the supreme spirit as Vishnu. Less
wordy and diffused, it is free from repetition and
interpolations of the Sanskrit text. Though devotional in
spirit, the works of Tulsi Das also display a purely
humanistic approach based upon a knowledge of man and
things around him. He was a path-finder and showed a keen
sense of human duty and dignity and urged upon all for
the pursuit of highest virtues in life.

Sardar Pannikar has
rightly observed that "Tulsi Das saved 
Hinduism from schisms and cults, for the religion of Ram
Charit Manas  in spite of the exaltation of Rama as
the supreme being, was catholic enough to hold all sects
and provided the strong motive force of Bhakti which has
since then remained the basic factor of Indian popular
religion".